Dæmons in our world
by mimi6e
Summary: Emily is a girl living in London, with her beloved dæmon Ebisu and her carefree life. But one night, she discovers another world, and she's no longer safe. Will she ever get home again?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Emily and her dæmon Ebisu jumped out of the car as soon as it ground to a shuddering halt along the wet pavement. Grey clouds overcast the sky and sent the city of London below into a dulled murmur of dark light, misted and blurred through drops of rain. Buildings stood tall, and the river snaked through the city, its black waters surging with the swell from the grey day. The air was cold, yet not cold enough to send children and their dæmons inside, as the park of green opposite Emily's house was bustling with a throng of squealing kids. Ebisu stood on the pavement as a wildcat, watching, his mottled fur buffeted by the stiff wind, and Emily began to walk to her front door. It was a basalt black, grimy, and with an almost sticky sheen to it. The number five was plastered to its centre in blued bronze.

Emily's mother came walking from the car to the house, her sparrow dæmon flitting above her head. Her hands grasped two heavy plastic bags. Emily watched but made no move to help. Her mother's face held an unreadable expression, her brows furrowed, and her duffle coat and dark hair flapped in the wind, making her look eerily like a witch. Emily thought to herself, that isn't far from the truth. Ebisu leapt to the girl's shoulder and settled as a mouse, his soft fur brushing her cheek. He whispered, "We'll sneak out later, after you've changed, yeah?"

Emily nodded.

Her mother, who's name was Valerie, set down the bags at the doorstep, and brought out a jagged key. She pushed Emily aside almost forcefully, and worked the latch until the door swung open and her dæmon, Griffen, fluttered inside. She strode through, and Emily followed, holding Ebisu at her breast. The hallway was dark, until Valerie snapped on the lights. A sheet of dust swirled in the mingled light and stung Emily's eyes. Her mother set down the bags on the floor and kicked off her heavy leather boots. Then she shrugged off her coat, turned on one heel, and walked into the kitchen, slamming the door behind her. Emily stood in the damp cold hall. Ebisu jumped down from her arms and landed onto the floorboards as a polecat. He skittered to the two shopping bags, his claws snagging in the plastic. Emily watched him, and then stooped to sit beside her dæmon. He had slipped inside the bag, and was now pulling out a bar of chocolate. Emily took the purple wrapping in her hands and tucked it into her furry coat. Ebisu delved back into the bag, this time hauling out, as quietly as a polecat could, a bottle of whiskey. Emily, who was only fifteen in age, smiled, took the bottle, and stowed it away in her jacket. Then she stood, Ebisu leaping into the air as a robin, before running down the hall and clambering up the rickety stairs.

Girl and dæmon made it to the top room, and Emily slammed the door and collapsed onto her carpeted floor. She laughed.

"Mum will notice it's gone," she said, bringing out the bottle of whiskey.

Ebisu flicked his beak.

"She hardly notices Dad's gone these days. Who knows."

Emily stopped smiling.

Her dad was never around, and he couldn't be, because he was dead. He died years ago, hit by a double decker bus. To Emily, any mention of him was like reopening a wound in her heart and gouging a nail through the flesh. She shuddered, so Ebisu flew to her breast and became a soft cat, apologising by rubbing his tabby head against her chin.

He felt Emily's pain too.

He was a part of the girl.

Soon he would settle his form, because Emily was almost an adult.

The girl sat up, and brought out the bar of chocolate. She peeled back the purple patent packet and took a square to her mouth before chewing and swallowing the sweet treat. She ate another square, and then a row, and let the sugar seep down her throat. When she put the packet down, Ebisu, as a robin again, pecked at the chocolate crumbs.

Emily knew that she could eat her fill because her mother wasn't going to cook her dinner. She rarely did. She would usually lock herself in her room with her dæmon, and if Emily dared to get close she would hear quiet sobs and moans. She didn't know why specifically. But she could guess.

Ebisu flapped his small brown wings and said, "We should get ready to go."

Emily nodded, then stood and paced to her clothes rack, which had no use because all of her clothes had ended up in a heap on the floor. She crouched, and sifted through the pile of fabric until she found a pair of jeans that weren't too filthy, and a jersey top patterned with the print of a leopard. She undressed out of her stifling constricting school uniform, remembering that the day was a Friday so she wouldn't have to wear it for another 48 hours, and then flung it to the other side of her room before clumsily pulling on her chosen outfit. It was cold outside, so she wore a pink jumper with a zip fastening. Ebisu watched as a lynx on the bed, impatiently clawing at the sheets with his long claws. When Emily was dressed, she pulled a comb through her tangled golden hair, and then gathered her things into a backpack. The whiskey and chocolate, her keys, a half emptied packet of Marlboros, a broken lighter that still worked on occasions, and her remaining five pounds. She slung the bag onto her shoulder.

Ebisu gracefully leapt off the bed and prowled to the door, ready to go. Emily followed. They quietly crept down the stairs, past Emily's mother's room and its closed door, and into the hallway. Emily pulled on her socks, her converse, and then her warm furry coat patterned with an oriental scene of a tiger and some trees. Ebisu became a tiger himself, and his rippling fur glowed in the cold light from outside. Together, girl and dæmon quietly slipped out of the house and onto the grey street.


	2. Chapter 2

It was cold, and Emily's hands began to hurt as she gripped, white knuckled, onto her bag's straps. Evisu prowled beside her, always there, his rippling flank brushing her legs. There was no one else on the street. Just the thrumming of rain and a distant roll of thunder, which could also have been the rumble of London. Emily weaved her way through the tangle of backstreets and alleyways and dull pavements until she lost her bearings, so Ebisu leapt into the sky as a raven and sought out the way with his keen bird eyes.

The rain ceased, and the sun began to sink behind the black building horizon. The sky turned a deep cobalt. Jagged strips of dark cloud tinted with the orange of the setting sun tore through the blue. Soon the street lights would switch on and cast the city of London in an unearthly amber glow. Emily had to speed up. The darkness frightened her, although she would never admit that. Not even to Ebisu.

The constant growl of moving cars became louder as Emily and her dæmon walked. Their small grey backstreet ended at a roaring and brightly lit road, behind which, just visible through the glare, lapped the black waters of the Thames at high tide, dappled with white and red and orange from the lights of the city. Beyond the river was their destination.

Cars and bikes and a lorry sped past the road. Ebisu became a mouse and clung to Emily's shoulder. The noise battered their ears. But they were almost there. So Emily sped to a run and steadily made her way along the pavement, shouldering any people in her way and being rewarded with scowls and shouts and an aggressive shove from one young man. Evisu leapt at his pitbull dæmon as a wolverine, snarling ferociously, before chasing after Emily as a blackbird. Girl and dæmon ran and flew and began to tire; each breath sawed in Emily's chest. But eventually they made it to the bridge, bustling and swaying with the weight of the hundreds that were pacing along it. Tall women, stout men, tottering children, a filthy looking tramp who walked haphazardly and stumbled along, his rat dæmon coiled around his blackened neck. No one on the bridge even looked at him. No one looked at Emily either, as she sped across the road, swerved out of the way of a speeding bicycle, and began to weave her way through the throng of people. As she ran she noticed that nobody was looking anywhere. Their eyes were trained on their shoes. Behind them the towering buildings of London were glittering and gleaming with an air of brilliance that only grand cities could encapsulate, yet no one seemed to take an interest. No one except Emily, and Ebisu of course, who glided along above the bridge and gazed at the scene with keen eyes. He dived down onto Emily's shoulder.

"How much further?" the girl asked, as her legs were beginning to tire.

"Not long now," came the chirruped reply. "Jus' over the bridge and then down a main road. Off of that is the house."

Emily swerved to avoid an old woman and her snarling badger dæmon.

"D'you think Izzy will be there?" she asked Ebisu.

The blackbird shrugged his dark wings.

"She better be. She owes us ten pounds for losing that bet. Remember? She flinched when we burnt her with that cigarette."

Emily smiled and laughed quietly.

Eventually the end of bridge came into view, and the girl slowed to a pace. Her dæmon told her to go straight onwards, and then right.

"Lucky we didn't have to get on the underground," he said as he hopped along the pavement. "It's always too cramped down there."

"And mum's got my Oyster card," grumbled Emily. Ebisu flicked his beak. "She doesn't trust us," he chirped.

Emily scowled, and didn't reply. She knew her mother. She knew that her mother didn't trust the either of them. She knew that she was still mourning the death of her husband. She knew that she took out her anger and grief on her defenceless daughter. And she knew more than anything that it wasn't fair.

So Emily rebelled in the only way she knew how; by being a thieving, lying, untrustworthy urchin who slithered around the streets like an alley cat. She smiled to herself, and Ebisu jumped into the air.

Soon the two of them were crossing the road, and were jogging down a darkened street past grand houses who's facades were coiled with vines and roses and thorny plants. They stopped in front of one brown brick building, it's front barred by a black lead fence. Emily stood there, and could hear the thump of music from inside. She sent Ebisu to fly up to a window, and he could only reach the first storey before it began to hurt and tug at his heart. No dæmon could go too far from their human counterpart.

Ebisu peered in through the glass and saw a group of girls and their dæmons. He tapped on the window with his yellow beak, and a blonde head turned. It was the pretty face of Alex, their friend. Her wren dæmon Blaz flapped his wings in surprise. The girl nodded at Ebisu, and turned to run out of the room and down the stairs. Soon she threw open the door, and then the gate to the fence, and was gripping onto Emily's arm and dragging her inside, laughing and cackling and smelling strongly of cannabis.

Emily laughed with her, and their dæmons chased each other through the air. Blaz had settled a year ago as a wren; happy, energetic, and independent. That was Alex. She had been so happy that day, and Emily had gone with her, and her close friend Pepper, to Camden Town, and they had sat on Primrose Hill to drink beer, their dæmons racing each other through the air. That night they had eaten a large grand dinner with Alex's family. It was called a Dæmon Party, similar to a birthday. It was the day your dæmon settled. A month later, Pepper's dæmon Sabola had settled as a shrew. Then Emily's best friend Isabella's daemon had settled as a beautiful white ermine. His name was Thybault.

Emily was almost jealous. She was fifteen. Ebisu had not settled yet. She wondered when it would happen, sometimes she wished, but mostly she enjoyed having a dæmon that could change into something furry in bed, or something roaring in danger. She loved Ebisu.

Alex led her upstairs. The boom of music shuddered the carpeted floor, and from a flashing room there came shouts and hoots of laughter. Emily brought out her bottle of whiskey and stepped through the door, Ebisu a black marmoset clinging to her shoulder. The noise almost deafened her, but she soon accustomed to the glare of lights and sounds. She swigged at her bottle and grimaced, because the whiskey always burnt. Familiar faces smiled at her; she recognised Celia and her squirrel dæmon, Amy stretched out on a chair beside a lithe greyhound, Riccardo and Zach immersed in a lighthearted conversation and surrounded by a cloud of tobacco smoke. Emily drank again.

Then she saw Isabella, and smiled. Her friend was with a dark haired boy, his jack russel dæmon stood by his heel. As Emily neared she heard a flirtatious cackle from Isabella. Emily laughed because it was typical of her friend. As quietly as she could, she paced up to behind Isabella's back, eyeing the boy who's name was Freddie to say 'don't tell her!'

Then Ebisu leapt as a kestrel at Thybault, who was perching on Isabella's shoulder, intently watching Freddie's terrier dæmon. He let out a small ermine squeak as the falcon landed squarely on his back, and Isabella gave a yelp. And then Emily threw herself at her friend, and was rewarded with a soft poke to the gut. The two girls laughed. Their dæmons regained their composures.

Once Ebisu had preened himself and had settled onto Emily's shoulder as an ermine like Thybault, he said, "You owe us ten pounds."

Isabella scowled.

"No I never!" she said as Thybault raised up onto his back legs. The girl gave Emily an innocent look, but her dæmon's white fur was spiked and defensive.

Emily rolled her eyes.

"I know you're skint but so am I, right. You owe us a tenner 'cos you flinched when we burnt you with that cigarette and you said you wasn't gunna. Now give us it 'cos I need to buy some rizlas."

Isabella frowned, and after a reluctant groan she rummaged around in her black coat pocket and brought out a crumpled orange note.

"Here," she said, throwing it at her friend and watching as it twisted aside and swirled to the ground. Emily bent to grasp it, but Ebisu was already there, gripping it in his stoat teeth and clambering up the girl's jeans and back onto her shoulder. Emily took it from him.

Then she smiled and clapped Isabella on the shoulder, thanking her friend before giving her the bottle of whiskey. The two girls drank together until they felt dizzy, and their dæmons chased each other, Ebisu as a rabbit, around their ankles. Then they were quite drunk, and Isabella had to leave to the bathroom after the colour had gone from her face. Emily heard her cough in a bout of vomiting. "She always does this," Ebisu said. "Next we'll have to take her home 'cos she can never walk straight. I bet she'll get into some shit with her mum."

Emily nodded.

Alex came over, a cigarette in her mouth, and asked Emily for a light. Emily unslung her bag from her shoulders and found her lighter, and then took a cigarette for herself. The two girls left for the garden, because smoking inside wasn't allowed.

The garden was dripping and dark, and bitterly cold, and Ebisu coiled around Emily's neck as a ferret to keep her warm. Blaz perched on a garden chair, his small claws wet from the recent rain. Emily lit her cigarette. Smoke swirled in the night and glowed silver from the pale light of the moon. The sky was a murky orange; lights from the city obscured the stars but the moon was full, so it shone as brightly as it could. Emily gazed at it, and shivered. It was only September and it was already cold.

Alex took a drag from her cigarette.

"When d'you think Ebisu will settle?" she asked bluntly.

Ebisu, taken aback, became a moth and agitatedly fluttered around Emily's blonde head.

Emily shrugged.

"I dunno," she said. "I s'pose soon, but I hope not. I like him this way."

Alex furrowed her brow.

"But don't you wanna be older? I can't wait 'till we're adults. I'm gunna live alone, jus' me and Blaz, and I'm gunna get a job as a politician so money won't be a problem."

Emily laughed quietly. "I don't care about that stuff," she said. "I wanna be young forever. Ebisu will never settle, you'll see. My uncle, right, when he was in his twenties an' thirties his dæmon still wasn't settled. She kept goin' between a mole and a nasty snarlin' badger that used to scare me when I was little but then I found out was one o' the bravest animals on earth. But then my uncle started takin' these pills and she settled as the mole. A bit borin', 'cause I wanted her to be the badger for life."

Alex nodded. "A honey badger, thas' what they're called. My friend's dad's dæmon is a honey badger but he's a twat. I don't like him."

Emily laughed, then said, "Nah, Ebisu isn't gunna settle."

Alex smiled. "I bet he'll be somethin' like a dung beetle," she teased.

Emily elbowed her, then after one last drag, flicked her cigarette into the sodden bushes. She breathed deeply and her head swam. Alex coughed.

"We should get back inside," she muttered, her teeth chattering. "I'm fucking freezing."

Emily nodded.

The two girls stumbled back into the house, wiping their feet on the doormat because dirty shoes on the carpet weren't allowed. Emily went into the kitchen, hungry for something that might sober her up a little, due to her drunkenness putting her a little on edge. Ebisu was agitated too, fluttering around Emily's head as a moth, then a ladybird, then a bluebottle, then a goldfinch. Emily cursed under her breath, because she could feel herself slipping into an anxious stupor, brought on by the alcohol. Her heart was beating hard in her chest, and Ebisu, in an attempt to calm down, became a mouse and Emily held him at her breast. She hated anxiety. She hated how it affected herself, and how it affected Ebisu. He would usually become a cat or a fox or something small, and run around her room whimpering agitated growls or squeaks or snarls. If Emily began to cry or breathe too much, he would often come to his senses and curl up in her arms, but would then return to his anxious state. Dæmons feel their human's pain too.

In the kitchen, Emily found some bread and a glass of cold water, then she sat on the counter and chewed slowly. Her panic subsided and her heart began to beat slowly but heavily. Ebisu became a labrador and leant against his girl, licking her cheek. Taking strength from this, Emily slid off the countertop and was about to run back upstairs, when someone else came into the kitchen.

It was James.

He was a tall boy, a dancer, with long graceful limbs and a shaved head. His dæmon was a goose. Her dark neck and wings gleamed in the soft light. She nodded her head at Ebisu, who jumped from the counter as a kestrel and fluttered around the room.

Emily smiled.

So did James.

Ebisu landed beside the goose dæmon, who's name was Diega. The two preened each other's feathers.

Emily watched them. James watched Emily.

"You alright?" he asked.

Emily nodded.

James scowled, and scratched his head. "You don't look it." He gave Emily a soft and worried stare. "You weren't havin' a panic thing again, were you?"

Emily shook her head, but it slowly turned to a nod. Of course James was right. And of course Emily couldn't hide from him.

James sighed and opened his arms, and Emily hugged him. He pressed his lips against her head, and their dæmons curled up together.

Emily sniffed.

"I didn't know you were here. You should've said."

James hugged her tighter.

"I just arrived, I was lookin' for you. I'm here, don't worry."

Emily's panic, still fluttering in her chest like a trapped bird, began to subside as she felt James's warmth and heartbeat against her. He was wearing a fleece, and she buried her face into it. She loved James. Her boyfriend.

James stroked her hair, and then said softly, "You alright now?"

Emily nodded, so James pulled away slightly and looked down at her. Emily had to crane her neck to meet his gaze. He smiled and pressed his nose against her forehead. Then he kissed her, hugged her, and held her hand as together they went upstairs.

The party was still going; more people had arrived and the music was blaring louder than before. Ebisu had to be a robin on Emily's shoulder to make room. Emily held James's hand tightly. The lights and the sounds were battering her head. Ebisu pressed his small feathered body against her cheek, and James squeezed her hand.

"Hey, Al and Arch have just got here, I'm gunna let them in. Izzy's here, I saw her, so go an' find her coz she'll keep you safe." Then he kissed Emily's forehead and left. Emily stood alone, and scanned the room.

Isabella was sat on a sofa beside Freddie, her hand on his knee and his arm around her shoulders. Alex was lost in conversation with Pepper, who had just arrived and was wet with rain. Her shrew dæmon was cleaning his whiskers on her shoulder. Amy was with a boy Emily didn't recognise, who had a skinny and ragged jackal for a dæmon. He had broad shoulders and a patchy shaved head. His cheek was ruined with a large cut and a bruise. He was smoking a cigarette. Amy caught Emily watching, and beckoned for her to join them. Emily dithered for a moment, unsure and put off by this strange boy. Something about him gave off a feeling of a brutal nature. Emily didn't like it, but eventually she walked across the room to Amy's side. Ebisu leapt down onto the carpet and became a wildcat again, his tail coiled protectively around his girls legs.

Emily smiled at Amy, and eyed the stranger.

Amy said, "This is Matt. He's my brothers friend from uni. I said he should come tonight an' he did."

Matt nodded at Emily.

"Your dæmon still changes?" he asked gruffly.

Emily nodded impassively.

Matt scowled. "But you're like fifteen or somethin' en't you."

Again Emily nodded.

Matt smiled. "That's cool. I like that."

A grim smile stretched across his face that made Emily frown in disgust, and Ebisu shrank back.

Matt laughed. Then he gave Emily a plastic bottle.

"Have a drink," he said.

Emily shook her head.

"Don't want any."

Matt licked his lips.

"C'mon, don't be a fucking pussy."

"Don't say that."

"It's jus' some wine. And it's only alcohol. Come on."

He gestured the bottle towards her.

Emily looked at it, and Ebisu clawed at her jeans, but nothing was going to sway this boy. So she took the bottle and swigged it. It tasted foul. It wasn't wine - at least, it wasn't only wine. Matt laughed loudly as Emily grimaced and coughed.

"Fucking can't believe you drunk it," he hooted.

Amy gave him a nervous look. Emily was suddenly gripped with a shock of panic, and a cold sweat broke out on her face like a layer of frost. She coughed, and opened her mouth to shout for James.

But suddenly she forgot that, because everything became very distant and her head swam and the room spun and the lights glared in her eyes. The boom of the music throbbed in her head but softly, as if she was underwater. Ebisu became a marten, and flowed up to Emily's shoulder before giggling and becoming a beetle. He swooned, then fainted. Emily hardly noticed because everything was so strange. Matt and Amy seemed miles away. The room seemed to sway. She was on a boat and the sea was surging. She had to sit down.

Emily stumbled over to Isabella's sofa, and collapsed next to her friend. Isabella was lost in an intimate embrace with Freddie, and she didn't turn to look at her friend because she was kissing him. But Emily didn't care.

Alex and Amy, with Matt in tow, came over and said "We're going out for a walk, d'you guys wanna come with?"

Isabella, roused from her tumble with Freddie, nodded, and leapt up, pulling Emily with her. Then the six of them were crashing down the stairs, Alex grabbing Pepper along the way, and they spilled out onto the cold wet street. James had gone, and Emily didn't see him as she was pushed along the pavement away from the house.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Emily gripped onto an ocelot Ebisu, who was coming to his senses and stirring from his sleep. The night air was cold on their faces, and there was no one out this late. Only the group of drunken kids, hooting and howling and stumbling along the wet pavement. Isabella was clinging to Freddie. Alex and Pepper were laughing together. Amy hung back. Matt was leading the way, strutting along, with his jackal dæmon grinning and snarling and baring yellow teeth at the shadows.

Emily still felt strange. Matt had drugged her. And she hated him for it, so she kept her distance. She slowed her pace to stumble along beside Amy and her greyhound dæmon Lief, who looked up at the swooning Ebisu with round sympathetic eyes. Amy's gaze was trained on Matt.

"Wha's he done to you?" she asked, as Emily tripped over a curb.

Emily could tell that Amy liked Matt. She didn't want to ruin it for her friend, so she shook her head and lied.

"He didn't do nothin'. I jus' drank a bit too much, thas' all. Ebisu gets like this if I'm more drunk than I should be."

Emily looked down at her poor intoxicated dæmon. His green eyes were slits, watering and glazed, and his paws hung limp from Emily's arms. His spotted pelt was dull and ragged. Emily had never seen him like this before. And it scared her. She dug her fingers into her beloved dæmon's fur.

Amy was lighting a cigarette.

"D'you think he's nice?" she asked Emily, after billowing out a cloud of smoke through her nose. Her eyes were still on Matt.

Emily lied again, and nodded.

Amy looked down at her greyhound dæmon.

"Lief likes Daeva," she said. Emily guessed that Daeva was Matt's brutish jackal dæmon.

Emily sighed, because her head was beginning to throb and her legs were seizing up, and she wanted more than anything to sit down. She told Amy, who called to the rest of the group and asked if they could stop soon. Matt was the leader, so he answered with a gruff shout.

"We ain't done yet. We haven't even got to the river."

Amy sighed and looked at Emily, then shrugged, before skittering ahead across the wet pavement to Matt's side. Lief followed her, his grey claws clicking on the tarmac. Emily was left alone, although not really. She was never alone, she thought, as she hugged Ebisu to her breast. The ocelot dæmon raised his head feebly, and licked his girl's cheek, before changing to a mouse with visible effort, and curling up into a small ball in Emily's palm. Emily stroked his fluttering side with her thumb, and gently slipped him into her coat pocket.

The pavement swerved to the left, and soon the group of kids was standing by a green painted fence, overlooking the glittering black waters of the Thames river. The gentle lap and suck of waves could just be heard over the rumble of London, and Emily gazed out across the cityscape, which was shimmering in the dark night. Towering buildings blocked the sky. Emily could see the shining glass panes of the Gherkin, the London Eye's slow turn, and Big Ben's glowing face. A plane flew overhead, its engines echoing a muffled roar through the sky. When Emily breathed in, she could smell car fumes and cooking, and the fishy tang of the river.

Alex leapt up onto the fence and dangled over the edge, her legs waving in the air. Pepper joined her, and their dæmons perched together on the rail of the fence, wary of the lapping water below. Freddie's arm was around Isabella, and his terrier dæmon was standing a bit too close to Thybault on the pavement. Isabella's ermine gave a soft hiss and flowed up into his human's arms, where Isabella gripped his white fur. Amy was looking at Matt, but Matt was looking at Emily. Emily didn't notice, of course, because she had adventured too far into her own little world to the point where she was completely detached from her friends and the city. Her head swam and her eyes stung. Her stomach was beginning to churn. Her throat convulsed and she had to cough, and then the bent over to wretch. A thin slime spattered onto the pavement. After that she felt a bit better, and Ebisu crawled out of her pocket and became a rabbit for her to hold to her breast.

Then Alex was at her side.

"You ok?" she asked, handing her friend a cigarette.

Emily nodded, and took the cigarette. Alex lit it for her.

The group then began to amble along the riverside, joking, laughing, dæmons loping and trotting and fluttering along the pavement. The jackal Daeva was growling constantly, at what Emily didn't know. Matt seemed as agitated as his dæmon, his eyes darting and his shoulders tensed. Ebisu pressed his soft body against Emily's chest and whispered, "We'll get him for what he did. It ain't right."

Emily nodded earnestly and scowled. The more she walked the more she became herself. Ebisu seemed more alive, and the city wasn't spinning. She must have thrown up most of the drugs. She sped her pace to catch up with Alex, and asked her the time.

"Jus' gone one o'clock ," she said.

Emily sighed. She was tired, and still ill, and she wanted more than anything to quietly slip back into her house and curl up in her bed, with Ebisu as an ermine coiled around her neck. Alex sensed her friend's discomfort, so gently held her hand and smiled.

"You can go home soon," she said quietly. Emily smiled back and squeezed Alex's hand. Blaz fluttered from his girl's shoulder and affectionately pecked at rabbit Ebisu.

The two walked along the riverside, holding hands, until Alex left to catch up with Pepper. Emily was left alone on the pavement, and she clung to Ebisu. Her legs were tiring, and she stumbled along. The group seemed to be leaving her behind, so she tried to quicken her pace, but her feet hurt so she slowed down. No one noticed her trailing behind. No one but Matt.

He told the rest of the group to carry on walking until they got to a bridge, under which was a book market with stalls of cardboard boxes filled to the brim. They obeyed, and lurched onwards, laughing and talking and not looking back at the two left behind. Matt turned and stared at Emily. His dæmon was pawing at the ground. Ebisu had become a black cat, his most anxious form, and was agitatedly eyeing the jackal. His tail began to thrash, and he gripped onto Emily's chest with sharp claws.

"Emily, they've left us with him. I don't like him. Call for Alex. Or Izzy. Or Amy 'cause Lief can run fast. Jus' get someone to come back."

Emily gripped tighter onto her dæmon but ignored his pleas. She never usually did. She seldom disregarded his intuition, because he always knew what Emily felt at heart was best in certain situations. If Ebisu said it was time to leave, then Emily would instinctively obey. Now, Ebisu felt unsafe and anxious, but Emily didn't notice because the drugs Matt had given her had had an indescribable effect on her. Not only was she ignoring her dæmon, but she didn't know why. She couldn't really hear his voice, she couldn't comprehend the danger she was in. She wasn't herself. And when this took effect, Ebisu started to lose himself too. And he became a small terrier dog, a rare form for him to take, because Emily wasn't subservient. She didn't do what she was told. But now...

Matt was thundering towards her at a hard pace, his large feet colliding with the pavement and echoing around the buildings. Emily didn't feel scared. She didn't even flinch when Matt's shaved head was up close to her face, and when his cracked lips were licked my a malevolent tongue. Ebisu quailed, and flattened his white ears. But Emily didn't notice, and to her surprise, she even managed to loosen her grip on the small dæmon and let him fall to the ground, where he thudded onto the pavement and whined. Immediately, Matt's jackal Daeva was on top of him, her claws deep in his fur and her teeth bared. Emily knew this was wrong. But she couldn't move to help. She couldn't touch another person's dæmon. That was the worst thing anyone could ever do.

So she watched her dear Ebisu, pinned down on the cold wet stone, with no strength left for changing. Matt looked too, but only briefly, and then his hand was gripping Emily's wrist. It was too tight, and it hurt. Emily tried to pull away.

But Matt was strong, and he yanked her arm back. Then he said in a gruff voice, "Jus' let it happen," before lunging at Emily with an open mouth.

Emily tried to scream, but his tongue muffled her cries as it forced its way down her throat. So instead she lashed out with her hands, her arms, her legs, her feet, everything. She punched and kicked and shook her whole body, pulling away from his foul kiss. But then his strong hands were on her, and he was holding her so tight that she couldn't breath. She backed away but came to a stop at the green painted fence, with nothing but the cold river below. Ebisu had wriggled out of Daeva's grip, and was in Emily's arms as a polecat, hissing and snarling with all the anger he had.

But Matt wasn't finished.

He groped at Emily, at her chest and her legs -

-and then, with the most disgusting shock that had ever tugged at Emily's heart, his hand was on Ebisu.

He couldn't.

He was not allowed.

 _It_ was not allowed.

It was the worst thing anyone could ever do.

But he was doing it.

And his hand was gripping Ebisu's fur, and Ebisu was snapping and snarling and shaking so violently, and scratching and biting and clawing. And Emily screamed.

It echoed off the city and pierced Matt's ears. He gripped harder onto both dæmon and Emily. So Emily kicked him. Hard. In the shin.

Matt cried out, and let go of Ebisu.

But then he brought back his fist and hit the girl in the face. Pain exploded in Emily's cheek. She fell backwards, onto the fence, and then Matt was over her, glaring at her with cold stone eyes.

He spat, "You bitch!", before pushing Emily with so much force that she felt herself fall.

And then her body hit water.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cold shot through her very heart. Bitter icy black swept over her head, and stung her eyes, and seeped into her mouth. She kicked out beneath her, but she kept sinking down. Through the darkness came a flurry of murky bubbles, which Emily noticed was her own breath as she gaped and screamed. She couldn't move, she couldn't see. The water was bitter and sour as it slipped down her throat. She tried to cough. More water went down. She flailed her arms, but her coat was sodden and it pulled her into the depths. She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to die. She didn't want Ebisu to disappear into the air. She didn't want to go to heaven, or to hell, or into a hole in the ground. She didn't want to drown.

But the water was heavy, and so were her limbs. She felt cold, and then suddenly warm, and then happy. She was sleeping, wrapped in soft silk sheets. She was peaceful. She didn't need to breathe.

Then through the murk came a shooting dart of grey, and a seal was beside her. Ebisu gripped savagely onto Emily's clothes with strong teeth and heaved her upwards, his sleek body gliding through the dark. Emily felt herself surging up and shouted with what air she had, because she didn't want to go up, she was so warm. Then she broke the surface, and her mouth gaped like a landed fish, and she coughed and coughed and her lungs burnt and her head throbbed. Her limbs flailed and she soon went under again as water sloshed into her face. But she resurfaced once more, with the seal under her arm, and she gripped on tight to her dear, beloved dæmon. He swam so gracefully, and so fast, and soon she was grasping with white hands and shaking arms onto a concrete step.

She coughed once, and then vomited murky water, then closed her eyes and breathed. Sweet, warm air. It filled her blazing lungs and seared her throat, but it felt so good. She hungrily gulped mouthfuls of it like a starving dog, and then coughed until her stomach hurt. When she stopped, she opened her eyes and saw Ebisu, as a sodden wildcat, splayed on his side and staring at his human with huge round eyes. Emily forgot her drowning and flung herself forwards, gripping onto her dæmon so tightly that her fingers ached and her knuckles went white.

"Oh, Ebisu," she wept.

His claws sunk into her chest as he pressed himself against her.

"Never again," he murmured.

"It felt so horrible. His hands.. It wasn't right." Emily choked out a sob and hugged her dæmon, crying, until she felt better. Then she blinked the tears from her eyes, stroked Ebisu's tabby back, and with her last sap of strength, hauled herself out of the water and onto the stone stairway. There she sat on her heels, still breathing heavily, and so lightheaded that she couldn't really see anything. The river was spinning. She vomited again. Ebisu pressed his head against her. The water had chilled her to the bone, and a faint breeze snatched away her heat and made her shiver. Ebisu immediately became a lynx, and pressed his thick tawny fur against Emily to warm her. The girl gripped onto him, and looked down at the sucking slapping murky water. She scowled.

"I hate him. Matt. I hate him. So much."

Ebisu rubbed his head against his girl's side. "So do I. Next time we see him I'll be a tiger, and I'll leap at him and rip out his throat. If he touched me then I can touch him. I'll kill him for what he did, I promise."

Emily smiled.

She loved Ebisu.

Girl and dæmon sat on the step, pressed against each other, until Emily's legs were stiff and aching, and she had to stand up to stretch them. The effort to get to her feet made the blood roar in her ears. Her sodden clothes were heavy, and they hung loosely from her frail trembling limbs. Ebisu became a deer and steadied her as she gripped onto his back. Slowly, the two made their way up the concrete steps, away from the sucking black water, and then collapsed onto a gritty pavement. Emily breathed heavily. Her clothes were soaked and cold. The river had sapped all of the strength from her limbs and her lungs. She lay back onto the concrete, it's dry rivets scratching the heel of her head...

Emily sat up.

Then she fumbled around on the floor, rubbing the stone with her hands.

The pavement was _dry_.

Bone dry. And warm.

But it had been raining earlier, surely.

Emily turned to Ebisu, who became a small brown moth and fluttered around his girl's head.

"I swear it was wet out," he murmured.

Emily scowled. "Yeah. I stood in a deep puddle. And it was freezing. Now it's all warm... It's like the weather's flipped."

Emily was confused, but then she thought back to Matt giving her the bottle of wine, and then she realised that she must be imagining things. She still wasn't back to normal, and since her drowning she was starved of oxygen.

So she hauled herself to her feet, Ebisu perching on her shoulder, and looked around. The street was pitch black, but she knew roughly where she was.

"We'll go and find the others, yeah?" she asked her dæmon. Ebisu twitched a delicate wing in reply, and said, "Matt told 'em to keep walkin' to a bridge and a market, with boxes of books underneath it, didn'he?"

Emily nodded.

"We'll try 'n find 'em, unless Matt's taken 'em away."

Ebisu jumped off Emily's shoulder, became a wolf, and scoffed, "Wouldn't put it past him."

Then the two set off down the dark street, Emily dragging her feet, and Ebisu padding beside his girl, his soft grey flank against her legs.

The bridge was there, dark, but different. There was no market. No books. No boxes. No people.

All that was there was a small kiosk, smelling of coffee, tended by a red faced man with a pigeon dæmon on his shoulder. He was eyeing the girl, with a concerned and confused look in his gaze. Emily saw him staring, so went over to the kiosk.

"Have you seen a group o' kids my age come through here?" she asked.

The man shook his head. Then he said, "Are you alright there, missy? You sure you like wearin' those clothes? And you look soppin' wet."

Emily was a bit confused, but she nodded vigorously.

"I jus' got rained on, thas' all."

The man scowled, then turned around to wipe down a silver machine. His dæmon fluttered onto the kiosk counter, preened her grey feathers, then began to peck at some leftover crumbs. She said, and dæmons seldom talked to any other humans but their own, "It hasn't rained all day."

Emily shrugged. "Maybe not here."

The pigeon dæmon cocked her head, and then turned around to flutter back to the man's shoulder.

The smell of coffee and bread and warm sweet cake that emanated from the small food hut made Emily's stomach growl, and she was so cold in her soaked clothes that her teeth began to chatter. So she bought a small muffin, and a mug of hot chocolate, but the man didn't quite understand what she was asking for. He gave her the cup, and it was hot chocolate, but the man called it 'chocolatl'. Emily assumed it was due to his thick west country accent. So she payed for the food with her remaining five pounds. The man took the money, looked at it, and shook his head.

"I dunno what yer tryin' a do here but I en't takin' this." He dropped her money on the counter and gave her a penetrating stare.

Emily was confused.

"But it's enough, surely? Five pounds?"

The man shook his head again.

"I don't take outside currencies. Gold dollars or nothin'."

Emily didn't know what he meant. And she was hungry and cold, and the mug was warm in her hands. So, she took back the money, pretended to search her pockets, and then she ran.

The man shouted, and his dæmon exploded in a flurry of feathers.

But Emily was already past the bridge, round a corner, down an alley way, and nestled comfortably atop a low wall overlooking a small green square. Ebisu perched beside her as a red kite, keeping watch for the kiosk man with keen bird eyes.

Emily gulped the hot chocolate, and felt it's warmth in her belly. Then she ate the muffin, giving Ebisu a small handful of crumbs, before pushing herself off the wall onto weary feet. She felt much better.

Then she asked Ebisu, "Why wasn't there a book market under the bridge like Matt said there was?"

Ebisu shrugged his auburn wings.

"I bet he was lying. He's a liar. And a twat."

Emily laughed.

"And that man at the kiosk... Gold dollars? We en't in America. And his dæmon said it hadn't rained all day, but it definitely had. Walking to Alex's, we got wet."

Again Ebisu shrugged, and then hopped off the wall and glided to Emily's shoulder. "Let's go home," he said.

Emily nodded.

"I'm tired."

Ebisu jumped to the ground as a stoat and skittered along the pavement, carefully poking his small brown head around the street corner to see if the kiosk-man and his pigeon dæmon were nearby. But there was no one there, so Ebisu jumped into the sky as a kestrel to find the way home. He fluttered his speckled wings and reached as far into the sky as he could go, before hovering above. Emily watched. The kestrel dæmon looked this way and that, then dived and swerved to look the opposite way. Then he dropped to the ground as a black cat, back arched, eyes wide.

"The streets," he cried. "They've changed!"

Emily knelt on the ground.

"What d'you mean?"

Ebisu clawed the pavement.

"They've - the streets - they've all changed. London. It's all different."

Emily was confused.

"How?"

Ebisu became a sparrow like Emily's mother's dæmon, and fluttered around his girl's head.

"There's no bridge the way we came. There's no Tate. No OXO Tower. No Gherkin. No London Eye. And the streets. They've all jus' changed. They're not the same. Oh, what's happening Emily?"

Ebisu dropped to the ground as a cat again, and Emily crawled forwards to hold her dear distressed dæmon.

"I don't know," she whispered. "But I think I'm scared."


	5. Chapter 5

The tangle of streets had become even more of a knotted web as Emily and her dæmon scrambled helplessly through the city. Ebisu was right; London had changed. The alleyways, the side streets, the roads and houses and signposts were all different. The air was warmer, and the river was lower, and its waters seemed even darker than before. The cityscape had changed too. Through the murk of night Emily could just see the black outline of the horizon. It was nowhere near as built up as it should have been. There were tall buildings, but they were all towers with spires. The city seemed archaic. There was one glass building, which Emily didn't recognise. St Paul's was there, she thought, and so was Big Ben, and Tower Bridge, but that was it.

Ebisu repeatedly flew up into the sky to look, and each time he came down to tell Emily more.

"Hyde Park is there. And Hampstead Heath I think. And the Embankment, like what we walked along with Izzy and Alex and all them. There are less bridges though, no Millennium, the one we used on the way here, but Tower and Southwark and some others are still there. But the buildings are all so strange. I still don't know where we're going."

Emily suddenly felt a shock.

"What if our house isn't there? What if our street has gone too?"

Ebisu became a rabbit for Emily to hold, and he said, "Then we'll find it. Don't worry, we ain't lost."

They were lost, both knew that, but neither of them wanted to admit it. So they traipsed through the almost-London, towards Southwark Bridge, Ebisu swooping through the air as an owl, Emily running down allies and grey gritty streets, trying to find any familiarity in the strange city that smelt of fumes and soot and cooking meat, and was haunted by the drunken hoots of rambunctious men making their stumbling ways home. After an endless fumble through the darkness the girl and her dæmon came to the bridge. It was almost empty. There were only a few men, stalking along, their dæmons trotting or fluttering behind them. They were wearing the strangest clothes, suits and top hats, like something from the nineteenth century. Emily guessed they were dressing up for a night out, but it still put her on edge. Everything about this London seemed strange, and it scared her.

She ran over the bridge, Ebisu gliding behind, and her body ached with the effort. She was so tired. London on the other side of the Thames was different too, which made Emily panic. She was convinced they would never find their house, that it had disappeared into the air like a dæmon when her man dies. Ebisu tried his best to navigate the distressed girl through the foreign web of streets, but in the darkness, and with fatigued limbs and an aching head, Emily was hopeless. Some of the roads were familiar, but most of them were alien, and everything was so slightly wrong. That door was too grand. That shop was never there. That crossing had no traffic lights. That main road was cobbled. There were trams instead of buses.

And the cars.

The cars were not cars.

They were carriages, almost like horse drawn carts, a scarce few rarely rumbling down the road, some small, some large, with great wheels like those on a bike, golden spokes, and at the centre, strange glowing balls which seemed to turn the wheels. This shook Emily.

Until now, she had thought that maybe the drugs Matt had forced upon her had been inducing this vivid dreamlike hallucination, where London was very slightly altered.

But now.

The girl felt like she was in a different world.

Ebisu sensed her distress, so landed on her shoulder and affectionately preened her golden hair with a strong owl beak. "Don't worry, Emily," he said. "We'll find home."

Emily wished she could believe her dæmon.

The two set off again, away from the main road, and down a dark street towards what should have been home. Emily didn't know what the time was, but already the sky was beginning to lighten, becoming a milky pink laced with swirls of dark cloud. Emily knew her mother would be angry. Whenever the girl would slip into the house in the early hours, as quietly as she could, with Ebisu a stealthy cat padding beside her, her mother would always be there. She would stand, arms crossed, in the shadows, and just stare. Her dæmon would flap his wings and cock his head, but then that was it. The two would silently walk up the stairs, as if so disappointed that no words needed to be shared. Emily missed her mother.

Since her father's death, the two had become so distant. It made Emily sad, because she did love her mother. But at times Emily felt that her mother felt nothing for her in return.

Ebisu cried a harsh screech, tugging Emily from her thoughts.

"Emily, quick!"

He was swooping in the sky ahead of her, excited and agitated, and making Emily start.

The girl sped her pace, turned a dark corner, Ebisu swerving on silent wings, past a light brick bank which Emily recognised, and then found herself standing in a small grassy park, lined with London plane trees. Emily knew this park. She took it to be the same playground that stood opposite her home. But it was empty. There was no swing set, and no climbing frame, and no slide or roundabout or brightly coloured metal fence. There were two benches, both wooden, with black lead armrests decorated with an ornate design of thistle leaves. Formal. Like a garden, not a playground.

Expecting the worst, Emily hurried across the green, emerging from the plane trees and onto her street. She stood on the cobbled pavement, eyes wide against the gloom, and stared.

Her house wasn't there.

In it's place stood a grand stone building, almost like a church, adorned with carved statuettes and bold lettering that read "The Council of the Magisterium".

Emily took one step backwards, before her breathing became shallow and quick, and her heart began to thump heavily in her chest. Her palms were ice cold with sweat, and her hands began to shake.

Her home wasn't there.

Her mother wasn't there.

She was lost.

Before Ebisu could attempt to comfort his girl, Emily turned and ran.

She threw herself full pelt along the road, careering down the street and coughing out strangled sobs. Ebisu followed as a hare. They hurtled around the corner, back past the light brick bank, down along the cobbled road and its strange glowing cars.

Every breath seared Emily's throat like hot ash, and every step was agony on her aching feet. But she didn't feel it, because all she could send spinning around her tired mind was the fact that her home was gone.

Just like that.

Gone.

It was as if it had disappeared into thin air, just like a dæmon when her man dies.

Emily cried.

Soon she could run no further. Her throat and lungs and chest seemed to burn. Her heart ached and her body shook. She would have collapsed if Ebisu hadn't leapt to her side as a deer, resting his trembling body against her legs. She gripped onto his brown back, and felt tears on her cheeks.

"Where are we, Ebisu?" she asked. "What's happening to us."

Ebisu couldn't answer, so swayed his graceful head in dismay.

Emily wiped her tearful eyes and looked around. She took in a dark blurred alleyway, flanked either side by dishevelled buildings and grated stairways, metal dustbins tipped over and spilled out contents that smelt of carrion. She covered her mouth with the crook of her arm, and began to stumble along the alley. Ebisu followed. His hooves were dragging, and his antlered head was drooping with fatigue. Emily felt it too. She was so tired, and hungry and cold, and she wanted to sleep and squeeze her eyes shut and wake up from this lucid nightmare that haunted her waking mind.

So the girl found a small nook between two brick houses, where the ground wasn't too filthy, and where passers by couldn't see this small, pale girl, who's soaked clothes hung loosely from her frail body, and who's dæmon was shaking and shivering with fright and exhaustion. Emily crawled into the corner, pulled her damp coat about her knees, and closed her heavy eyes. She felt Ebisu squeeze his warm ermine body underneath her clothes, where he curled up against his girl's chest, his soft fur brushing her skin.

The two fell asleep like that.

When Emily woke, she knew something was different.

She sat up quickly, hit her head on something hard, and cursed loudly. Ebisu awoke with a shock from his place around her neck. Emily blinked the sleep from her eyes, and stared into the gloom around her.

She was on a small mattress, in a big room, with stone walls and an arched roof. Above her head was a low hanging beam, which spanned across the entire room, and was laden with items of clothing. She saw her own, her fur coat and her blue jeans, hanging near the centre of the room. Surrounding her were more beds, or sleeping sacks, some empty, some occupied with slumbering children her own age.

Ebisu flowed to her lap and became a wildcat, arching his back and letting out a faint hiss.

"Hush," Emily whispered, but she felt her dæmon's agitation.

A moment later, a dark haired girl with a mouse dæmon clinging to her shoulder came picking her way through the chaos of bedding, and found herself beside Emily at the edge of the room.

"You're awake!" she squeaked. "About time, too. Gregory was about to pour a bucket o' river water on your head to see if you was still alive. I'll tell him you're up."

Emily was confused, and the jumble of words went straight through her aching head.

"Where'm I?" she mumbled, and her cracked lips stung.

The girl looked down at the disheveled girl with tangled blonde hair and a ragged tabby dæmon and jumped up.

"You're safe, thas' all. I'll get you somefin' to drink an' eat. There's food here. Food an' shelter. For all kids who ain't got no homes."

Then she bounced away, her dæmon following her as a small swallow.

Emily scratched her head, then dug the heels of her hands into her sore eyes and rubbed them vigorously. She felt sick, and her head throbbed savagely.

Ebisu became a moth and fluttered to her shoulder.

"D'you remember what happened last night?" he whispered.

Emily scowled.

"Just about. Not much, though. Just glimpses. I remember Matt, and falling in the river, and... Oh, Ebisu, our house! It's still gone. I thought it had all been a dream, but it wasn't. We're still here. We're still here."

Ebisu tried to calm Emily down, but then quickly scurried to her lap as a polecat because the dark haired girl had come back. He bared his sharp teeth at her now fox dæmon.

The girl took no notice, and sat down beside Emily.

"Here," she said, placing a tin cup of water and a slice of brown bread on the mattress.

"I bet you're hungry. God, I found you in such a state. You was passed out in an alleyway, behind some bins, and you were soakin' wet. You didn't even wake up when I shook your shoulder, and your dæmon didn't stir when Tia took him from your neck." Her dæmon shuffled his paws. The girl carried on talking.

"I was with a mate and we carried you back 'ere. We took off your wet clothes and put you in a bed. You were wearin' strange clothes. Trousers! And a coat made from fur I ain't seen before."

Emily closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. The girl noticed, and said, "Sorry. Am I hurtin' your head? I'm Lola, by the way. And this is Tia." The fox nodded his auburn head.

Emily tried to smile.

"I'm Emily. And Ebisu." She beckoned to the guarded polecat on her lap.

Lola smiled.

She was wearing a mint green dress, stained, cuffed with white lace at the arms and hem, and over that she wore a filthy apron. She was around twelve in age. Her dark hair hung in dirty clumps, and her freckled face was patchy with dust and soot. Her smile was gappy, but warm, and her hazel eyes were bright. Emily liked her instantly.

Lola nodded to the food she had brought.

"You gunna eat?"

Emily rubbed her eyes again, and straightened up as much as she could without her back throbbing. She rasped, "Sorry, but I ain't hungry. I feel ill. And where am I? You never said..."

Lola just smiled and hugged her knees. "Don't worry. I ain't gunna hurt you. And you're nowhere special. Still in London, if that's what you're askin'."

Her dæmon flicked an ear.

Ebisu stood onto his back legs.

Then Lola leapt up, brushing down the front of her skirt.

"I gotta go now. Greg's goin' out to get some food, and I gotta help him. He says I got quick hands, you see. No one's caught me at the market yet. No one ever will." She smiled her gap toothed grin. "I'm the best thief in Camden."

Then she whisked around, throwing a goodbye over her shoulder, her dæmon a goldfinch close behind her.

Emily watched her go, until she disappeared into the murk of the room. Then Ebisu relaxed, and became a wildcat again. Suddenly, Emily was overwhelmed by a wave of despair. She was tired, and lost, and everything was so strange. Her dæmon looked up at her eyes, before throwing himself into her arms.

"Oh, Ebisu," Emily whimpered.

The cat dæmon pressed himself against her.

"Don't worry, Emily. We're safe, jus' like Lola said. We'll find home. We'll find mum. Now eat, 'cause your weak. We almost died last night, but we're still here. We're still alive."

Emily cried into her dæmon's soft mottled fur, and after that she felt much better.


	6. Chapter 6

Lola came back an hour later, after Emily had eaten. The dark haired girl slipped into the stone room, a grin on her face, with the boy who's name was Gregory close behind her. Around her shoulders was a brown jacket, bulging with pockets bursting at the seams. All the children gathered about her, and she began to share out what she had stolen. Bread, apples, cakes, a silver flask of coffee, cigars, and boxes of matches. Her dæmon Tai stood at her heel as a hare, hopping around her ankles and talking with the other children's dæmons in excited squeaks. He was telling them about the market.

"Lola always goes fast. You never loiter when your thievin', right? You go straight for the stalls, 'cause otherwise people get suspicious an' that. If they catch you, you're in for it. God, there's some nasty men at the market. I once saw a fishmonger grab a boy caught stealin', and he held him by the hair and slapped him hard on the face. The man even tried to grab his dæmon!"

The dæmons gasped.

A cat beside Tai shook her head indignantly.

"No way that happened." she spat. "You always lie, you an' Lola."

Tai became a fox and flattened his ears. "It happened, alright. I ain't lyin'. I never lie, me or Lola."

A badger beside him laughed. "You're lyin' right now."

Tai laughed too.

Lola was talking to the other children as well.

"Yeah, the market was fully busy, an' everyone was talkin'. Talkin' closely. They were sayin' there's somethin' strange goin' on in the river. Further up, around Whitechapel. Men say the fish are goin' missing. And the water's gone clearer."

A boy beside her, who's dæmon Emily took to be the disbelieving tabby by his heel, scowled.

"What's so strange about that?"

Another child, a girl older than Lola, with thick mousy curls and a redstart dæmon, said, "I heard there's weird creatures swimmin' in the Thames, right. Huge fish, blue whales, and mermaids and all that."

The boy with the cat dæmon scoffed.

"No way. There ain't no mermaids in the Thames."

A blonde girl with a terrier dæmon chirruped, "I been hearin' that there's witches over London. They've come from the North to see what's goin' on in the waters."

The children began to argue over who's tale was true, their dæmons alighting in the air as hawks, or jumping to their heels as cats or dogs with bared teeth.

Emily watched, until Lola, her dæmon perched calmly on her shoulder as a blackbird, shouted, "Shut up, you lot, or you ain't gettin' any food! And besides, it is true what I was sayin'. And I also heard what Mary was sayin', that the witches are comin', 'cause they reckon the river could've opened up somethin' strange."

Emily watched for a while, admiring how Lola and her dæmon had all the other kids hanging from their every words. The children's eyes lit up when they listened, some smiling, some gazing, others scowling and shaking their heads, but all of them listening intently. And Lola enjoyed the attention.

Emily didn't know what to make of the children's stories. Witches? Mermaids? None of it could be true.

She stood from her spot on the mattress, and tried to walk over to the throng of girls and boys. But she was so weak and dizzy. She tripped over a crumpled bed sheet, and stumbled over onto her hands and knees. Lola spotted her, and stopped her story to the dismay of the children around her, before emptying her pockets onto the floor, leaving the kids to fight for the food, and hurrying over to the poor girl's side.

"You ok?" she asked. Tai became a collie, with soft fur and soft eyes.

Emily nodded. "Jus' tired still. And weak. I ate the bread you gave me, but that's all I've had since yesterday."

Lola nodded, then offered her grubby hand. Emily took it, and Lola pulled her up. She was surprisingly strong. Emily thanked her. Lola shrugged.

"Go back to bed now. I'll bring you more food when you wake up. Jus' rest easy, and when you can walk, I'll show you around the ends, yeah?"

Emily smiled, and nodded, and Ebisu became an ermine around her neck. Lola guided the girl back to her bed, made sure she was wrapped in her blanket, and then Emily fell asleep.

Emily awoke later, when the room was empty and dark, and the air was colder than before. She looked around, and the space seemed cavernous without the other kids. The walls stretched high, the ceiling masked in gloom, and from somewhere there came a distant drip of water that echoed off the stone. Ebisu became a small leopard, and prowled around the bed, ears erect. Emily told her dæmon to stop being so nervous, then stood from the mattress onto tired feet. She stumbled across bedsheets and pillows, stained suitcases and leather trunks, and found a small lamp on the stone floor which she lit, not only for light but also for a sense of company. The room was silent and cold. Emily was frightened in the dark, but again wouldn't admit it. Ebisu knew anyway, as they were one being, so he pressed his spotted side against the girl's bare legs. Emily smiled, and cast about the room with the dim lamp.

She saw countless beds, one a small cot, all empty. Looking up, she saw, perched on the wooden beam, a pigeon, it's head under a grey wing, asleep. It must have been nighttime. Emily had no idea how long she had been in bed.

The girl made her way across the dark room, until she stopped beneath the beam where her clothes had been left. The stretched to reach them, but was too short, so Ebisu fluttered up as an eagle, and dislodged the clothes with strong talons. Emily caught them, and pulled them on, and felt instantly warmer in the chilled gloom. Then she fumbled around the floor, looking for her shoes. Ebisu became an owl and spotted them further up along the wall. Emily pulled them on. Then, with Ebisu as a leopard again, she stumbled across the room to a small wooden door, it's boards warped by damp. A weak sliver of moonlight shone through a keyhole. Emily turned the rusted knob, pulled open the door onto a stone staircase, and lightly bounded up. Ebisu followed as an owl, his eyes keen in the dark. The two emerged from the gloom onto a grey street, empty, lit only by a single lamp and the glow of the moon. Emily paced down the cobbled pavement, glancing around, Ebisu on her shoulder and whispering into her ear.

"I hear voices from over there, Lola and the rest of 'em. And the buildings here are run down, almost abandoned. Warehouses mostly, and there's a train track that goes along above them. Arches, that's what they are. That's what we've been sleepin' under this whole time."

Emily nodded.

She walked on, until the street ended abruptly at a road. The road was empty and dark, but opposite where they stood Emily could just make out a black fence, and beyond that she could hear the sway and sighing of trees.

Ebisu alighted from the girl's shoulder and circled above, before swooping down as a squirrel and saying, "Its a park. Or a garden. There are a few trees. It could be Regents Park, 'cos I can see Primrose Hill. And - yes! - there's London Zoo! And there's that grove where we used to sit with James. That's where Lola is. I can hear her talking."

The two of them set a brisk pace, Ebisu scurrying along the road, and they made their way into the park. They were met by a mudded path which veered left, over the hill, into trees that cast long shadows somehow darker than the gloom of night. As they walked along, Emily could hear the voices, Lola's among them. They were laughing, and the smell of tobacco smoke wafted on a warm breeze.

As Emily entered the trees, she found the kids, a small cluster, clinging to one oak. Most of the children were there, all smoking and talking and laughing, but softly, and not as harsh as the glimpses of conversation Emily had caught earlier that day. Their dæmons were talking too, some playing and scuffling, some whispering. In the slight light from the moon that made the tobacco smoke swirl silver, Emily saw this gaggle of helpless kids as a family. She hadn't even been with them a day and she already felt safe in their presence.

At that moment, Lola, who was sitting straddling the upmost branch of the oak tree, saw Emily, and she smiled her sharp toothed grin before swinging her legs around, and pushing herself from the canopy. She landed with a thud onto her feet, and didn't even stumble once. Tai was beside her as a jackdaw, and he flapped his wings in greeting. Ebisu bounded over to him and the two dæmons exchanged friendly words.

Lola smiled.

"You're awake! Thought you'd sleep forever. I was gunna wake you to tell you we're all goin' out for a bit but you was so peaceful, I jus' couldn't. And you've had a rough couple o' days, you needed the rest."

Emily nodded, and then realised she was dizzy with hunger and thirst. She told Lola so, and the dark haired girl scampered off to fetch a small bundle wrapped in a stained handkerchief. She opened it, and inside was a slice of bread, a small lump of cheese, and a fig roll. She handed it to Emily.

"Sorry I can't give you more, but pickings are slim, and we got more mouths to feed at the moment. Do you want some beer? And a cigarette? We got lots o' them, the best quality smokeleaf, cos' Eileen there has a friend who works in a tobacco store so she can nick stuff easy."

Emily nodded. "That would be nice, thanks."

Lola gave her a small bottle of beer, a rolled cigarette and a box of matches, and after Emily had eaten, with some difficulty, the rather tough bread and sweaty cheese, she lit the cigarette and sipped her ale. Lola had a cigarette as well, and the two girls stood in the trees, smoke swirling around their heads, and their dæmons scurrying around their ankles as rats.

Lola looked at Emily.

"Why d'you wear trousers? You're a girl, ain't you?"

Emily, slightly taken aback, took a drag from her cigarette, and Ebisu fluttered to her shoulder as a small brown moth.

"Girls wear trousers too. Most girls I know wear trousers, I dunno what's so weird about it."

Lola scowled.

"Your lyin'. Don't lie, 'cos that's my thing. I don't need the competition." She laughed.

Emily smiled, and was about to laugh back, when Ebisu whispered into her ear, "Ask her about it. Ask her about this London. 'Cos girls do wear trousers, but obviously not here. Not in this London..."

Emily nodded.

Lola sniffed.

"Tell you what, when we get back to the basement I'll steal you some clothes. New ones, no filthy garms like what I wear. I'll go to the market, or down Regent's Park Road. I'll dress you nice."

Emily smiled, and said thank you.

Then she asked, "Whereabouts in London are we?"

Lola flicked her cigarette into the bushes.

"Camden. Right now, we're in Regent's Park. Primrose Hill's just up there, and when we're done we'll climb it. Nice here, 'cos at night it's all empty. And in the summer we can all go swimmin' in the boatin' lake."

Emily smiled. "Sounds nice."

Lola nodded, and held out a hand for a mouse-shaped Tai to crawl into.

Emily dropped her cigarette butt and stamped on it.

"How many kids live in that basement?"

Lola scratched her head and wrinkled her nose.

"I think about thirty. Maybe thirty-five, 'cos some kids only sleep down there some nights. Not me though. I've lived there years now. Better than sleepin' on the streets."

Emily nodded.

Then Lola asked, "How did you end up passed out in that alleyway the night I found you?"

Emily breathed in, and Ebisu fluttered from her shoulder to perch beside Tai as a blackbird.

"Well," she started.

She didn't know how much to tell Lola, and if Lola would believe her. She didn't know what to ask her, about this London. So, she started with Matt.

"He was a weird guy, brutish, forceful. His dæmon was a jackal, and she was cruel. She growled all the time, which was weird 'cos Matt liked me. A lot. He didn't know I had - have - a boyfriend."

Lola smiled.

"You got a boy? Is he nice? I don't like boys much, they piss me off. They're good for some things, like thievin', but in the end I can steal my own things."

Emily laughed, and nodded.

"My boyfriend's nice, yeah. Matt wasn't nice though. He drugged me with somethin', he put it in my wine, and when I drank it it made me feel like shit. All dizzy and sick. And so suggestible. He took me and some friends on a walk down the river, along the embankment, where he forced himself on me. He tried to kiss me, and when I wouldn't let him, he pushed me into the Thames."

Lola gasped.

"Can you swim?"

Emily nodded.

"Only just. I almost drowned, but Ebisu saved me. He was a seal. He pulled me up out of the river. And then that's when all the weird stuff started happenin'."

She told Lola about the sudden warmth, the dry pavements, the man at the kiosk, the streets and buildings and cars all being different.

Lola looked confused.

"But that's all normal! It hasn't rained here in days. Gold dollars is what you pay with, or at least what people with money pay with. And cars, I guess there aren't many of 'em in these ends 'cos here no one can afford 'em, but you do see 'em around."

Emily looked at her shoes and scuffed her feet on the dry earth. She took a deep breath.

"Don't laugh or anythin', 'cos this is what it feels like, and please believe me, 'cos I ain't lying, but I honestly think... I think this is a different London to where I live. A different city, but the same city, but just, different."

She breathed.

"It feels like I'm in a different world."

Saying it made it real.

And immediately Emily felt scared.

Ebisu became an ermine and flowed into the girl's arms. Emily hugged him to her breast.

Lola was quiet for a few moments, moments that were drawn out to hours in the quiet night.

Then she said, "I believe you. Truly, I do, even though it's strange what you're sayin', but to be honest, everythin's strange at the moment. The water in the river is flowin' weirdly, the people at the market are talkin' about witches and mermaids. And I also heard one man, the other day, just outside of the market right near the lock, talkin' about..." She trailed off, and her dæmon became a small bat.

Emily stood straighter and Ebisu raised his small white head. "Go on."

Lola swallowed, then said, "He was with a man, talkin' about other worlds. He was smart, dressed in a brown suit with a tie and polished shoes and all, and the way he stood and looked down at everyone else, not scornfully, just naturally, made him seem important. And his dæmon! His dæmon was a snow leopard, with the fiercest green eyes I ever seen. She stood right at his heel, with her head raised, and she kept sweepin' her tail and swivellin' her ears as if she was keeping watch. For who, I dunno, but when I stood there and listened, just out of sight, I knew what I was hearing shouldn't have been heard by anyone but those two men."

"What were they saying?" Emily asked, her heart thumping.

"I only caught a glimpse, but the man with the leopard dæmon was talkin' about money and equipment and anbaric charges and particles and experimental philosophy, stuff I don't understand. But then he mentioned other worlds. Worlds in the sky. Worlds like ours, right in front of us but just out of reach. He said there was millions of 'em, always there, always living, but cut off from us. That's all I heard until I had to leave, 'cos Gregory was callin' me, and it was gettin' dark. I didn't know what to think, didn't know whether I believed it. I didn't even tell the other kids, not only 'cos it seemed like a secret, but it also seemed too big and to scary to share."

She stopped talking.

Emily felt dizzy.

She knew everything Lola had said was true. She didn't need evidence. She knew Lola wasn't lying. She knew it was all true.

She thought back to drowning, sinking in the bitter water, when everything had turned warm. That wasn't her body dying, that was the water changing. Changing because she had somehow slipped into a different world.

Emily choked back a cry, and hugged Ebisu.

Lola gave Emily a look of sympathy and held out a hand.

"Come with me," she said quietly, before gripping onto Emily's arm and bringing her out from under the trees, up onto the crest of Primrose Hill.

Emily stood and gazed at the view, which should've been bigger and brighter, but here, in this strange place - this other world - the cityscape seemed squandered, darker, cramped. Lola watched her as she took a few steps forward, onto the small stone platform that covered the summit.

A forlorn expression shadowed Emily's face as she gazed out over London. She was still gripping ermine-Ebisu, who let out a quiet mew of distress and buried his head into his girl's arm. Then he flowed to her neck, coiled around it as if to keep her warm, and whispered, "I can feel it, Emily. I can feel it in my heart. This ain't our London. This ain't our home. This ain't our world."


End file.
